We’re already a few weeks into January, but for gadget-heads and tech gurus of all walks the CES show in Las Vegas is what really kicks off the New Year. And this year, amid the usual enthusiasm over the futuristic technology on display, Mother Nature provided some unexpected excitement with a series of curveballs as old as time itself. On Tuesday the streets flooded due to rain, leading to Google’s hotly-anticipated outdoor funhouse booth to close down. On Wednesday a power outage left convention-goers in the dark for about two hours.
But despite the hiccups the show went on – and thanks to a classic bit of dynamic tech-world thinking, it even gave some showgoers a unique chance to see a Tesla show off its dance moves. And reports coming out of CES have continued to give us plenty of bleeding-edge technology to thrill at.
As is always the case, some of the tech on hand may be on its way to a breakout year. Some may end up in history’s dustbin next to BetaMax (or HD-DVD, for that matter). But that’s half the fun. So here is a quick rundown of just a few of the most exciting trends on display at the week-long show; ones that might just forecast what consumers, enterprises and vendors can look forward to in the near – and distant – future.
A Year of Competition and Evolution for Virtual Assistants
E-tail juggernaut Amazon and search titan Google have both been doubling down on turning customers on to their respective voice-based virtual assistants, and both were making it known at CES this year. Amazon announced partnerships with third-parties to make its assistant Alexa available in people’s cars, their appliances and even from their glasses. And Google wasn’t far behind, announcing integrations of its Google Assistant into speakers, televisions and more. And Google was likewise right on Amazon’s tail with the announcement of new smart displays to compete with the new Echo Show, a device that adds touchscreen functionality to the chatbot.
While the verdict might be out on which voice-enabled device, or which ecosystem it connects to, will emerge the most used and the most useful, what’s certain is that we’ll see these two innovators and their third-party partners spending 2018 outdoing one another on virtual assistant features, functions and creative implementations.
More Haptics to Flesh Out the VR Experience
Today’s virtual reality experience is more immersive and lifelike than any time in the history of the long-simmering technology. But at a certain point you need haptic feedback – the sense of actually touching something – to match up with the images on your headset and let you really get physical, as it were.
There was plenty of haptic innovation to be found and felt at CES this year. There was, among other things, next-gen tactical handles for use with VR games, feedback vests that match up on-screen stimulation with physical sensation, an exercise bike users ride in real life while their headsets map on a virtual experience of their choosing and even a massage chair capable of VR integration.
And the industry is only just getting started with haptic/VR integration. While gamers might be the first ones benefiting from advancements in haptic-enhanced VR, a virtual experience you can really get your hands on could have applications everywhere – from the hospital to the factory floor.
Oh, And About Those Flying Cars …
Nothing says the future like that old standby trope of the Golden Age of science fiction – the flying car. And now we’ve got one – sort of. At Intel’s CES keynote, CEO Brian Krzanich demonstrated a personal passenger drone called the Volocopter.
Sure, we probably won’t see the purportedly safe, easy-to-fly personal ‘copter hitting the skies anytime soon. After all, the guidelines for autonomous flying drones without people in them are still up in the air. But the fact that the technology was there on display at CES is indication enough. What was the stuff of pure technological imagination a few decades ago is, in 2018, continuing to become reality.
Matthew Stern is a freelance writer based in Chicago who covers information technology, retail and various other topics and industries.
